


Sing to the Stars

by FlamesVoices



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, M/M, Shifter!Avengers, Shifter!Verse, Stony - Freeform, Wolf!Fic, shifter!fic, wolf!Steve, wolf!verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-04-09 14:51:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4353080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlamesVoices/pseuds/FlamesVoices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world of Shapeshifters and Humans, the Avengers find themselves on the front lines of preventing a possible interspecies war that could destroy the world and their rag-tag family before they've even had the chance to truly appreciate each other.</p><p>Shifter!Verse, with M/M slash. PG-13 materials for reasons, but no nsfw. <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Wolf without a Moon

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, Flamey's supposed to be working on To Fly or To Fall but this AU literally shot me out of the air and wouldn't let me go until I at least started on it.  
> Please forgive me and enjoy while I get over this AU-induced writers block!

Steve Rogers had been born scrawny and gasping for every single breath. His mother had been told that he was never going to make it to his tenth birthday, no matter what she did, but Mrs. Rogers was a tough cookie and that meant that she wasn’t going to listen to the doctors. She had faith.

His mother brought him home and looked after him as best she could, even going the extra distance to provide the best medical care possible, working double the time just to make sure she could afford whatever would help Steve feel better. Still, even with his mother’s help, Steve was weak for years and years, long after his father died an alcoholic, leaving only his mother to look after him and continue her intensive care, determined to make sure he lived to the fullest of his life span.

He’d finally come through, to his mother’s relief and victory; however, he had been horrified to learn one night that he wasn’t normal, wasn’t human.

Two nights after his tenth birthday, the doctor’s deadline he’d surpassed, he shifted for the first time—he became a tawny brown wolf with golden streaks in his fur that gleamed when the sun hit it just right. He was still extremely small, especially for a wolf, but the newly added growth rate and healing abilities had him looking as if he’d never been a runt by the time he hit the age of sixteen, and when he’d reached the age of twenty, he’d become large and strong enough to dominate others and start a pack of his own as a powerful Alpha wolf.

His mother had taken it surprisingly well, and had looked after him, helping him hide his secret from potential Hunters and other possible humans wanting to take advantage of his strange new super-strength.

It hadn’t been enough.

Sadly, it wasn’t very uncommon—the strained relationship between humans and ‘Shifters had only grown even more so as the attacks filtered through, thanks to an organization called Hydra, and humans, specifically Hunters, were relentless and unforgiving these days. Hydra had left a false trail in the city of Brooklyn, and ended up accidentally framing Steve. His mother died trying to defend him from the Hunters, and he was forced to leave her behind.

He fled from the Hunters as his mother had begged him to do, running alone in his wolf form, getting lost, weak and cold as he ventured up into Canada and away from the Hunters in the States.

The lack of a pack and comfort and food and rest and a home, all of it, had put strain Steve’s body and eventually forced him to collapse mid-run, his wolf panting and whining and reminding him of the days before he was a wolf, the days where he’d fought for every breath he had.

* * *

 

When he woke again, he was in a hospital, human again, and plugged into an IV feed. The room was small and sterile, smelling of chemicals and cleaning supplies. The tube kept his arm from moving too much, and the constant beeping made him nervous. Dazed, he reached for the tubes attached to his arm to rip it out, to try and make a run for it, when a voice stopped him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He froze, head whipping around so fast that he hurt his neck, spotting the man who had spoken—dark-skinned, wearing an eye patch, a black turtleneck and a black long coat. The man was seated on a plastic chair in the corner to his left, and smelled like he had the dominance of an Alpha, but was totally and utterly human.

“Sorry about all this, thought we’d explain when you were feeling better,” he began, looking at Steve carefully. “You’ve been asleep for two months, Rogers. I am Director Nick Fury, and my team and I found you and brought you here for recovery. We also did some testing and it seems like someone snuck a special serum into your body when you were younger—you became a wolf then, remember?”

Not bothering to ask how they’d gotten their information, Steve’s body tensed up, but he nodded anyway, cautious.

“Supposedly it was something to build a super-wolf—your mom didn’t know it at the time, just thought that he was an ordinary doctor, but he saved your life. I don’t think you seem to mind that part so much now, do you?”

Steve growled at Fury, keeping his arms crossed but doing nothing else to threaten the man. He seemed to have helped him out of the snow and while he was grateful for that, he’d rather go back out there and die than be taken advantage of just because of some new medical information.

“The man who gave you this serum, Doctor Erskine, was on the run from Hydra. They got to him before SHIELD could, and killed him before he could make any more super-wolves or super-shifters. They obviously don’t know about you yet, but I was hoping that we could make that change.”

“SHIELD?” Steve murmured, still rather disoriented. It was a lot of information to try and come to terms with, and he was unsure about how he felt—coming out as a Super Wolf all of a sudden? That was a lot to take in all at once, especially given what ordeal he’d apparently been recovering from.

“That’s us—just consider us the good guys. We’ve helped scout, identify, and defend multiple packs from human attacks or other rivals in the past, as well as have been busy trying to take down Hydra.” The Director interrupted his thoughts, and the Wolf’s attention snapped back to him.

Steve looked at him, bewildered. “So why am I here?”

“My organization and I believed you’d want to try and help us remove the main problem. Hydra has been getting too busy lately and the attack they made in New York was a bit too close to home. I wouldn’t be here asking for your help while you’re recovering from one of their attacks if I didn’t need it—so please. Rest for awhile, and when you’re back on your feet, come find me if you’d really like to serve your country.”

With those final words, the man was on his feet and sweeping out the door, coat flaring out behind him. _Dramatic,_ Steve mused, trying to settle in a more comfortable position. He drooped a little, mourning the loss of his mother and worrying over what the organization was going to make him do.


	2. Moonrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Steve is no longer a lone wolf and Fury is a pushy jerk.

“No. No, no, no, there’s no way in _hell_ am I going to work with a Shifter!” A loud voice snarled, forcing Steve to jerk awake. He stiffened, glancing around the room only to find that the argument was being held outside his door.

“Stark, you agreed a long time ago that you owed me a favor—here I am calling it in now.” Director Fury?

“Not this time—not now, and definitely not _him_.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“And you don’t have a right! The whole point of that favor was to avoid things like this happening, Director—don’t think that just because I owe you a favor that I’m going to just suddenly—“

“He lost his mom.”

“I’m sorry, what?” The voice had gotten softer, more controlled.

“This Shifter, he lost his mom. He’s a Wolf, Tony—they’re all about family. He needs a family, a team, around him to keep him sane, healthy, and alive.”

“Not just a family—you mean a _pack_ ,” the other voice—Tony—spoke accusingly, the fire now gone from his tone. There was a silence that Steve didn’t like, and he shifted uncomfortably on the bed, fidgeting with the bedsheets pooling around him.

“He’s awake, you know, what with all this racket. Let’s actually go talk to him instead of talking about him in front of him,” Tony finally spoke up. “So rude, Mr. Fury!” He scolded mockingly, and Steve tensed when the door swung open, revealing one Director Fury and a man with dark, short hair, intelligent hazel eyes, a lithe build, and very capable, well-monitored hands that were currently working a strange piece of technology Steve hadn’t ever seen before. He was well-dressed, at least casually so, and well-groomed and maintained an air of confidence that would’ve made Steve bristle had he been a Shifter.

“Steve Rogers, this is Tony Stark. He’ll be your second-in-command for a while until we get you situated. You should be able to leave today or tomorrow—Stark will be making sure you’re safe and have a place to go while you finish recovering. Now, I’ve got a place to be, so if Stark does something you don’t like, just let me know. I’ll make sure to take care of it.” He leered over the smaller man before exiting the room, leaving Tony and Steve alone.

The Wolf stared at the room’s newest occupant, and he was careful not to show any possibly offensive Shifter behavior to the man as he sniffed the air once. The man was definitely human, with his neatly trimmed goatee and scents of finer colognes and clothing material. But there was something off about him that Steve couldn’t understand—something that seemed too personal and too deep for him to try and trace without getting lost himself.

Tony’s eyes narrowed, bringing him back to the present.

“You’re an Alpha Wolf, aren’t you?”

Steve nodded, a bit concerned when the man smirked at his response. He waited for Tony to continue, but the man simply said nothing, taking a seat in the plastic chair beside him and kicking his feet up onto the edge of Steve’s bed without permission.

The Wolf didn’t mind, instead scooting over slightly to make room for him. “Why do you ask? Is there a problem?” He finally pressed, more concerned with the possible conflict at hand.

“I’m not going to lie—I don’t like Shifters much, and Alphas even less,” Tony explained nonchalantly, waving a hand in the air at him. Steve tried not to feel the sting from those words, but said nothing. His expression hardened. “Oh. I’m sorry. Why not ask Director Fury if I could stay with someone else—“

“But,” Tony continued on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I suppose I could make an exception for a Wolf like you. Given your position, I guess I was given the best option out of the two of us. And, quite honestly, you’re just too interesting.”

Steve became disgruntled at his words, but acquiesced, unsettled. If Fury had gone through all that trouble of recruiting this man’s assistance, he figured that he’d had reasoning behind it. No matter how infuriating he was.

“So, out for three months, huh?” Tony continued blatantly, unwilling to linger on the previous topic for too long, and not bothering to make eye contact as he fiddled with the piece of equipment in his hands.

“Two,” Steve corrected sheepishly.

“Right, right. Here—I brought a present for you, compliments of SHIELD and Stark Industries.”

He handed the electronic device over to Steve—it was nothing like he’d ever seen before, a see-through screen displaying holographs and charts that responded to his touch.

“Uh. Thanks. I think?” Steve replied, not wanting to seem ungrateful, even as he had no understanding of what he was doing as he glared through it like a pocket lens and fiddled nervously with it, unsure as to what he was supposed to with a seemingly framed piece of glass. Tony snickered, reaching over the bed railings to help him.

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you what this is. It’s a prototype for some new applications I’ve been testing—this thing will hook you up to SHIELD communications, as well as anyone else you want to add. I, of course, am already added on there,” he spoke smugly.

“You can access communications anywhere with that thing, SI guarantee, as well as get internet connections, cameras, and phone capability. In other words, it’s a really great thing to have.”

Dumbfounded now, Steve turned to the man. “Wow… Thank you Mr. Stark, I really appreciate this. But… Are you sure?”

“I might just take it back if you keep calling me Mr. Stark,” the man teased, grinning lazily at Steve, but somehow serious.

“Tony, then,” the Wolf continued, trying not to blush. This man was ridiculously overwhelming, disarming him with charm and stunning him with a stupidly sassy attitude and an outrageous self-confidence that was nearly arrogance. Strangely, Steve somehow had the feeling that this man could pull off everything like he said he could, that it was earned somehow.

“Why yes, Rogers, I am sure,” Tony chuckled, settling back in the chair. “And to be honest, if you’re going to be staying with me, I’d rather have a surefire way to stay in contact with you than a half-assed attempt at it like SHIELD or anyone else might try.”

What a strangely thoughtful response from the man who was arguing against keeping him in his own home only minutes ago. Steve still wasn’t sure what he should be thinking of the man, but at least he didn’t hate him immediately.

“Okay then. Thank you, M—Tony.”

“You’re learning,” Tony teased, pulling out his own device airily. The simple ease he seemed to feel while Steve was rather anxious unnerved the Wolf. He had been found in his wolf forme—he’d been on the run, afraid and stressed in the extreme, and waking up in this form after having that mindset for so long had caused him some trouble adjusting again. Steve missed the moving air, the smell of life around him fueling his thoughts and, overall, providing an outlet for his pains.

He missed having a home—having his own territory, as Fury would have put it. Steve hoped that Tony would have a space near the woods or something of the like that would provide him something like that, and he turned to the slightly older man again.

“Um, Tony?”

“Mmmhmm?” The man didn’t look up from the charts on his phone.

“When exactly did they say they were going to let me out of here again?”

“Eh, I don’t know for sure, kiddo,” Tony replied flippantly. Steve grimaced, fidgeting uncomfortably. His wolf howled inside him, demanding freedom and the feel of soil beneath his feet, and quite frankly, Steve had never before been so inclined to agree.

Tony sighed, as if he could read his mind, playing with his phone a little more with little more than a “Hold on, Rogers” and a grim smile.

“All right, looks like the docs are letting you go today!” He finally said cheerily, although it didn’t reach his eyes. Steve looked utterly relieved, and tried to squirm out of the hospital bed, only to wince at the tug of the IV feed, still in his arm.

“Don’t worry, the nurse will be on her way to relieve you,” the confidant man continued, and although Steve didn’t particularly like his attitude, he was still grateful and somewhat dumbfounded at his strange omniscience.

Still, he decided not to ever doubt the strange man when it came to things like this as the nurse appeared moments later to remove the IV from his arm and with a change of clothing for him.

* * *

 

Tony Stark lived in a mansion.

His home was right on the edge of a massive forest, and from what he was told, he also owned a majority of the forest lands there, and Steve had been stupefied when he realized that this was _the_ Tony Stark, head of Stark Industries, Billionaire and a humans rights activist.

Not only had he been floored by the information, but he’d turned a bright shade of red and had felt pretty ashamed that he hadn’t put two and two together sooner.

The first thing they did upon arrival was go through the house, Tony guiding Steve through most of the rooms except the guest bedroom and his own bedroom, although he did point them out.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with me staying here?” Steve’s heart gave a nervous squeeze as the billionaire squinted at him, reaching over—only to pull on his ear.

Steve yelped and Tony grinned—it hadn’t been a particularly hard tug, but it had been enough to surprise the Alpha Wolf. “What was that for?” He whined, wanting to shake himself and hesitating because it was a very non-human thing to do.

“I already told you that you could stay here—don’t ask me twice unless you want me to change my mind,” Tony quipped, shaking his finger at him mockingly.

Steve grumbled under his breath at the human’s strange comfort around him, and ended up following the man around the mansion for the rest of the day, looking for all the world like a lost pup.

As it turned out, Tony was not particularly good company for a Wolf—he forgot Steve was following him sometimes, muttering to himself and interacting with him at a minimum. Although he was kind and polite enough, Steve still felt lonely. It was when Tony curled up on the couch of the media room to watch a movie that he succumbed to his desire for companionship of some kind.

Tottering over to the couch, he nervously sat next to Tony, edging over to him, closer. He glanced at the billionaire, who remained cool-faced and collected, not seeming to have noticed Steve.

Continuing to scoot over, barely brushing his leg against Tony’s, he glanced over again, and settled there, pleased with the minimal contact that he’d risked.

He crossed his arms, watching the movie—something nonsensical to do with dinosaurs, he picked up on—and took turns peering over at Tony every now and again, who didn’t seem to notice, and if he had, said nothing about it.

Tony seemed to have finally had had enough as he suddenly reached out an arm and pulled the man up to his side as he leaned into him again in return. Steve huffed in surprise but didn’t pull away.

“You’re basically just a big dog,” Tony snickered, ruffling his hair. The blonde man growled at him, earning a grin and a soothing pat. “Take it easy, big guy. I know what you’re feeling right now, don’t give me that.”

Steve didn’t bother dignifying anything else Tony said, huffing a growl and settling against Tony’s side with minimal fuss, instead wondering what he could be going on about. He wasn’t a Shifter—and definitely not lonely or ostracized. He had Steve!

* * *

 

The first official territorial dispute between Hydra and Steve was more of a confrontation—the organization’s leaders had accents and scents that dripped with German influence, and as if those hadn’t become grating enough, they’d managed to stick him with a silver bullet in his shoulder blade.

He had managed to get the information SHIELD had needed from them, of course, but the price he’d had to pay in order to retrieve it wasn’t particularly worth it, and SHIELD had noticed that. To respond, the organization was working on getting Steve more teammates.

Unlike most stories, the Silver Bullet theory was a myth, and did just as much damage to a Shapeshifter as a regular bullet did, only being even more dangerous to pull out because of the manner in which it shattered in the body of a Wolf. The Wolf had, ruefully, been sent home to Tony under the restraining orders to keep Steve home and safe for the next few weeks. He had pored over the Alpha, protective in his own rite.

Steve had become restless during this time of recovery, and had strained his muscles when he’d tried to run around the compound, tearing his stitches and adding even more days onto his rehabilitation.

He’d kept the Wolf busy after they’d pulled out the fragments—Steve had caught him bringing a motorbike and parts into the garage, as well as personally making a phone call to make sure that his favourite foods were well-stocked in the kitchen, helping him cook and keeping him generally occupied.

Steve didn’t mind, secretly pleased that Tony was spending time with him actively, and while he felt a little selfish in that pleasure, it wasn’t enough to say anything to him about it.

* * *

 

Tony woke with a jolt, sitting up abruptly.

It’d been four weeks since Steve had been injured, and while his recovery had come quite far (since Tony’s personal involvement, anyways) in comparison to other Wolves, he still required the necessary rehabilitation in his muscles and back so he wouldn’t scar too badly.

Still, the creaking whine at the door suggested that the Wolf needed help healing from something else, too—whatever mourning pain he’d felt before all of this mess had obviously not helped.

“Steve?” Tony asked the dark room in a low voice. A high-pitched, wolfy whine replied, and the blonde stepped forward, seeming to droop tiredly and looking at him with dreary, heartbroken eyes.

“I’m sorry for waking you, Tony, I just—never mind. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately and… I’ll let you go back to sleep now, sorry.” He looked for all the world like a kicked puppy, broken hearted, drooping, exhausted and hopeless.

Tony grunted a bit as he got out of his bed, grabbed the larger man and pushed him onto his own bed. He knew that Wolves slept together as a familial group—maybe it would help.

Steve stiffened when Tony climbed in after him, scooping the man close to him and carelessly throwing an arm over his hip, hand rubbing soothing circles on his lower spine.

“Tony, I… Um.”

“You had a nightmare.”

“Yes… About the ice and snow, only I woke up out there again. Tony, you don’t really have to do this if you don’t—“

“Shut up,” the billionaire mumbled, not unkindly. “Now, regardless of nightmares. You came in here and woke me up—now you’re gonna deal with the consequences.” Steve whimpered quietly and squirmed.

“What do you mean?”

“Go to sleep—that’s an order, soldier,” Tony smirked tiredly, reaching up to cheekily pat the large Wolf’s cheek before draping his arm back over him and promptly falling asleep against the warm and comfortable man.

Steve blinked, surprised, but sighed, listening to Tony’s deep, slow breaths and was soon drawn into sleep after him.

* * *

 

SHIELD’s first breakthrough—and Steve’s, too—was when he’d successfully raided the Hydra warehouse near Boston undetected, setting up bombs and all sorts of recon equipment inside the building with Tony’s guidance over the communication lines. The mission had gone well until the Hydra goons recognized Tony at a coffee shop in town, trying to coerce and assault the stocky man. Steve had returned just in time, holding back a snarl when one of the grunts reached out to grab his friend’s arm in the café, voice oily and eyes menacing and dark.

He’d quickly slid into place, scooping Tony right up to his chest from behind with a gentle touch and firm one-armed hug—alerting Tony to his presence and not as some random enemy, deftly breaking the contact with one of the goons and fixing them with a challenging and somewhat threatening glare, barely holding back a snarl.

If things broke out into a fight there, their cover would be blown, but Steve’s mind thrummed without a care of these consequences, instead worried more about Tony. He kept his hold tight on the man as he pressed a cheek against his hair, obviously territorial behavior for any species, Wolf or no, and the goons reluctantly stepped back and away from the massive man and his billionaire.

Steve had maintained physical contact with Tony until they reached the compound safely, reluctantly removing his protective presence from him. Tony hadn’t argued or complained even once, seemingly aware of the fact that the Wolf was being protective, as all good Alphas were, and that they’d both needed it.

Both felt victorious, but exhausted from the day’s nerves and tensions, and retired early.

Ever since Steve had admitted his fear of falling asleep for too long or waking back up in the ice and snow again, Tony had made sure to become a permanent fixture in Steve’s bed at night, either dragging the Wolf to bed and curling up next to him, or Steve crawling in after him and settling himself and Tony in a protective cuddle while they slept.

It was an odd arrangement for humans, and certainly one to be considered sexual, but Steve was a Wolf, and that’s what Wolves with packs did. Steve really appreciated it, especially in knowing that Tony didn’t really like ‘shifters, and tried to express that as often and as subtly as he could. Trying to avoid bothering Tony, he wanted to know exactly what not to do, and one time had been brave enough to try and bring it up or mention it. The billionaire had fixed him with a hard eye and wouldn’t talk to him for the next hour, studiously ignoring the large Wolf and his apologies.

Still, he’d let Steve rest his forehead against his shoulder that night and had even remained by his side until Steve woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was that I was saying about inconsistent posting? Eh, must've lied or somethin'~!


	3. Making Moon Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve fears that Tony will leave him, and instead finds something more waiting in store for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like this fic will be a bit on the long side...  
> Anyways, enjoy! <33

“Steve,” Tony piped up one morning, mouth full of some French pastry that sat not even half-eaten on a plate in front of him. The Wolf hummed in reply, eying the treat and looking back up at Tony, asking silently and politely. The two had become extremely close over the past year now, no longer afraid to sleep beside one another or curl up whenever they were watching a movie. It was nice—Steve still wanted a pack, but this was close enough to it where he would be okay, he thought.

“We need to head back to SHIELD around three today, I think Fury wants to have a discussion with us. He mentioned something about relocating and reassignments,” Tony continued absently, pushing the plate to the man seated next to him.

Steve paused mid-reach, heart suddenly racing. Was he the one going to be relocated? He didn’t want to leave—he loved being here with JARVIS and Tony, they were practically a family now, and definitely all he really had.

“Hey, hey, take it easy, Steve,” Tony clapped his shoulder knowingly. “If they try to take you, I’ll just have J here mess with their systems so you relocate back here.”

The Wolf sighed sheepishly, looking a little comforted, and continued his reach for the pastry. It disappeared within a few seconds, Steve pretending that he hadn’t seen Tony finish his mug of coffee while he ate.

“Go for your run, I’ll get everything prepped so we can get to the base.” The genius smirked, ruffling his gold hair and rising from the table.

* * *

 

Ever since Tony had finally let go of the reins a little and let Steve go back to his runs, he’d felt amazing. Pulling the earth beneath his nails and pushing himself as fast and as far as he could go without the scar on his left shoulder starting to scream, the wind whistling as he ran, Steve felt truly alive and wild, releasing any and all the stresses he’d endured in the day, or the week, or the month. Living with Tony Stark wasn’t stress-free or easy, but it was definitely worth it.

Over the past year, Tony had won a special place in Steve’s heart, having been so kind and understanding in his own way. When Steve got upset and spent time alone, away from Tony, he’d come back to find one of his favorite meals left for him, still warm, laced with his favorite desserts, obviously the billionaire’s doing. Whenever Steve had nightmares, Tony would allow him to cuddle up to him as closely as he wanted, even though the man wasn’t particularly enthusiastic with the physical contact. He would pull up the blankets around the two of them, curl tightly around one another, and Tony would rub soothing circles into his neck and shoulders, whispering comforting words to the Wolf when he needed it.

A loud crack sounded, followed by a sharp, throbbing pain in his head, and Steve looked up to find that he’d run into a tree while lost in his thoughts. Huffing a wolfy, breathless laugh, he turned tail and quickly returned to the compound, back to change and back to Tony.

He pounced in through the back door, panting heavily and trotting in, wiping his paws and claws off on the door mat, wagging his tail at the sight of Tony seated at the table, sipping his coffee and swiping through his tablet, and mindlessly trotting over to the man's side. The nails clicking against the floor alerted the genius, and Steve realized his fatal mistake when Tony turned to look at him with a hard eye.

He gave a quiet whine under the man's gaze--Steve hadn't meant to upset his friend, and lowered his ears to say his apology. Tony sighed, shaking his head, reaching out to the Wolf.

Instead of pushing him away or something else, the man reached out and tugged on the Wolf's ear, earning a sharp yelp of surprise, just like the first time he'd shown up in the house. Steve woofed quietly, shaking himself out and snuffling at him, ears drawing back, appalled.

"You worry too much, pup," Tony laughed at him. "Go be human and change--we'll leave once you're done." The Wolf narrowed his eyes, nodding and gently headbutting the genius' shoulder affectionately before whirling away and up the staircase.

 _What an interesting reaction for someone who doesn't like Shifters,_ Steve mused while showering, toweling off and preparing himself mentally for the meeting.

* * *

 

“Now before I begin—“

“I don’t want to leave,” Steve blurted, interrupting the one-eyed man in the conference room. He winced internally as the man's heavy gaze fell upon him.

He and Tony had made it to the SHIELD base without much incident, Tony half-heartedly threatening to knock the Wolf out if he continued to brood. He was worried too, and maybe more so than Steve, but did a better job about hiding it, instead keeping his eyes down and hands busy so he wouldn’t seem to fidget nervously and wearing a manic grin or stoic poker face in-between.

When they’d arrived at the base, an Agent Coulson had gone to fetch them. Tony had seemed to know him already, although he was very tight-lipped about it, and the man regarded Steve with the highest respect. The Wolf hadn't pressed too far with Tony, both already stressed, but the agent had been quick and efficient in getting them past all the security personnel and recruits, something Steve appreciated. The assaulting smells of gasoline and metal and stress and power were getting to the Wolf, and Tony’s scent of coffee, leather interior, comfort and home were the only things holding the nervous Wolf together at that point. Quite honestly, Tony was the strongest presence out of the two of them at that point, another thing Steve really appreciated. Tony's ego was so massive that it threw a huge space around them, demanding respect and attention from any passersby, but Steve was able to forego that spacing and latched onto the billionaire's side, not that he seemed to mind at all.

When they finally met up with Fury, they found the man flanked by two agents seated beside him on each side, a fiery-haired female with long curling locks flowing down her shoulders on his left, and a wiry-looking man with short chestnut hair and sharp hazel staring them down on his right.

He’d greeted them at once, but Steve had tensed as soon as he'd entered the room—he didn’t like the feeling of being outnumbered, and had nearly growled at the new faces in warning, barely managing not to and instead brushing his shoulder reassuringly against Tony’s as they took a seat at the table across from the Director.

Of course, as soon as the man had begun to speak, Steve had interrupted, fixing the man with a hard eye. Fury didn’t even seem fazed, amusement filling his dark eye instead.

“We'll keep that in mind. As I was saying. Before I begin with some of the major information, Stark, Steve, meet Agents Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. These two are our top agents and our reconnaissance go-tos.”

Tony was bewildered, brows creasing in anger. If that had been the case, why had they sent his Wolf to go spying on a Hydra base and getting shot at when these two were supposedly the top of their class? There would supposedly have been no risk, and Tony wouldn't have any clue as to why he shouldn't trust SHIELD anymore than he did, which wasn't really saying much to begin with.

“These two recently returned from another mission outside the country involving some disputes with another pack of Shifters and also assisting another bogey in becoming a huge possible asset. Unfortunately, that meant that our only assets here and capable of moving into the field were you two. Job well done by the way, Mr. Stark, Cap.” He looked at the Wolf seated next to Tony.

“Cap?” Steve blinked, confused.

“Yes. Your actions have been recognized by the military’s definitions, core values, and initiatives. They’ve invited you to join their ranks with the Officer's Ranking of Captain after witnessing some of your efforts against the threats to the United States. We’re still keeping you on the down-low, of course,” Fury intoned, almost bored as he recited this new information. "But we accepted the title on your behalf. As for joining the military, that's a personal decision you'll have to make yourself later, Rogers.

“Now, thanks to your and Stark's work out in the field, SHIELD has been able to track and locate all the other Hydra bases here in the United States. There are five, including the one you successfully infiltrated. One is in a small town in Texas, another in California, one up here in New York, one in Washington, and another in Oregon. In order for you to infiltrate and destroy these, SHIELD has made some decisions on relocating and reassignments. I’ll personally be sending you more details on these mission and assignments the further along we come with the intelligence we’ve gathered so far, but I figured we should all get comfortable with each other beforehand.”

 _This is it,_ Steve thought, heart pained and dreading the next few words to escape Fury’s mouth. _This is where he’s going to take Tony away from me._ Steve held back a whine and pressed just a little minutely closer to the genius at his left, unwilling to go down without a fight.

Beside him, his dark-haired friend was bristling, just daring Fury to upset the Wolf beside him any further. The agents beside him had gauged their expressions and reactions, Barton reaching behind him and Romanov narrowing her eyes and moving to reach for something hidden in her utility belt—a knife, perhaps? Tony didn't care nearly as much as he felt he should have, but he knew in his core that if things came down to it, they could all three fight and while it'd be an extremely close one, he could still hold his own and beat them both if necessary, especially for Steve.

Quickly identifying the threat, Steve knew he wouldn’t care if things broke down into a fight, and neither did Tony—they’d throw down if they had to, and for a moment, Steve actually felt something powerful tugging at him, like nothing he’d ever felt before, making him stronger and a little less wild.

It was the sensation of having something there to back him up and rely on, the sense of pack.

“I am relocating Agents Romanov and Barton to your facility, Stark. Before you argue, put it this way—either I move you and Rogers closer to them, or they stay with you in your own territory away from all this mess.”

There was a pregnant pause between the two groups, tension so thick in the air it could be cut with a knife.

Then, Tony let out an audible hiss while Steve huffed out a sigh of relief, slumping just a little against his friend and catching his breath. He’d rather share his space than give up the person he’d come to regard as closely as he had, and sat up straighter to try and defend him.

“I didn’t think you’d have as much of an issue with that, Mr. Stark, considering the last time we sent you two out alone we almost blew our cover. You are valuable assets to our team and to even risk that happening again is not one I want to take.” Fury continued, pressing and looking at Steve.

“Rogers, you’ll be in charge of keeping Stark in line and these two will make sure that you both are safe and staying on-task. Understood?” Before he could give an honest answer, the Wolf knew he'd have to gauge these newcomers first, and then add in Tony's wild card personality, simply glancing at the Director with a grimace and scenting the air once, twice, three times.

The strange, unfamiliar scents of the two agents that were going to be staying with them had a strange spice to them—the redhead smelled of something sweet, but dangerously so, like the sweet sugary scent of a deadly flower. Perhaps that was what an Omega-scent smelled like, and while he appreciated its presence, that alone wasn’t particularly enticing to him. The other man smelled of ozone, of the ocean breeze and an airiness that Steve couldn’t quite describe. He smelled of an independent power, reliable on nobody but himself. He smelled Shifter on the both of them, but neither of Alpha scent.

While Tony smelled of earth and metal and coffee, these two smelled completely different and wild, and Steve wasn’t sure about how to feel yet.

“With all due respect, Director—that’s Tony’s choice to make. Not mine, and definitely not yours. If he wishes to house your agents—your _soldiers_ —you need his consent,” Steve took on some steel in his voice, something that he was beginning to notice that he didn’t mind. "You need to brush up on the United States Constitutional Rights, again, Director."

The genius blinked, then beamed at the Wolf beside him, who refused to budge on his behalf. Steve smiled half-heartedly back at him. Tony knew that Steve would back him up and help him no matter what--Wolves were just like that, and for once, Tony Stark was grateful that one of the people closest to his heart was a Shifter. They could take these two newbies, especially if they had to defer to the both of them... Right?

“Stark? Your call,” Fury spoke begrudgingly, interrupting his thoughts.

Tony grinned maniacally, and nobody else in the room knew better than Steve that when that look crossed the billionaire’s face to run as far and as fast as his legs, and more, could carry him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it! Also, feel free to leave any comments or critiques for me, I'm still a huge newbie writing these fics and would appreciate any feedback to work with~!   
> Thanks for reading!


	4. New Moon Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the pack grows, and new pack members extends a helping hand in hunting down the questionable organization, HYDRA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, friends!

“You put them in the attic,” Steve spoke slowly, trying to comprehend Tony’s mentally skewed train of thought with no success. Tony had told the Director that he would house the two agents—assassins—on his own terms, and that meant no guarantees towards their comfort. It seemed that Tony was very determined to forcibly make the two leave by their own volition, although they’d proven to have no issue with the set up so far. The Director had begrudgingly agreed.

“Why?”

“Because you can hear them move around,” Tony explained. “But thanks to JARVIS’ mute settings, they can’t really hear us. They’re the _Spy’s Spies_ , Cap. No use in feeding the Cyclops anymore information if we don’t want him to know.”

Exasperated, Steve shook his head. “Tony, they’re supposed to work with us. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but I want them to trust us like we want to trust them so nobody gets hurt out in the field. Okay? Can’t we compromise?”

 _Damn him and those puppy eyes,_ Tony swore internally. “Fine. What do you propose, then, O Capitan?”

Steve’s face wrinkled at the name—ever since Fury had dubbed him with that title, Tony had been very quick to take it up and hold to it tenaciously. Not that he minded, but it was more that it seemed to push the billionaire away from him. That was something he absolutely minded.

“Well, we kind of—“ Steve’s face lit up bright red. “We kind of share a room, Tony. We share a _section of the house_ , at least. So maybe they could stay in another room or place in another area inside the house? Away from the both of us and our space, at least? It might help,” Steve hedged. He knew how that sounded, especially for a human that was not in a relationship.

The genius mumbled a bit and seemed to mull it over, absently carding his fingers through the Wolf’s hair as they curled up on the couch comfortably.

They’d crashed in the media room after the meeting and paperwork had been settled, allowing the two agents to familiarize themselves with the house while the two hid out, away from them with JARVIS to alert them should they have tried to do something sneaky.

“Fine. You win—they can stay in the furthest wing away from us. Don’t want to be interrupted, I see,” Tony teased, smirking as Steve flushed an even brighter red and swatted at him.

“JARVIS, would you please escort Assassins One and Two to the furthest wing away from ours possible?”

“Yes sir. I would also like to inform you that Agent Barton is currently attempting to navigate to the kitchen through the air vents,” the AI replied, earning a curse from his creator.

“What the f—how did he even _fit_ in there?” He demanded, hands stilling.

“Sir, you appear to be housing two more Shifters,” JARVIS quickly pointed out.

“Well then—what do we have now? JARVIS, turn on the fans, I don’t want him getting any ideas,” Tony growled.

“Of course, sir. It appears that Agent Barton is a Hawk, and that Agent Romanov is a Wolf. However, I am detecting a Variant sample in Ms. Romanov’s genetic core—I cannot identify it myself. Her Genetic Variation is extremely unique and not currently recorded on any databases I’ve accessed.”

“Work harder, then,” Tony grunted. “Thanks J, keep me updated.”

“Yes sir.”

“Genetic Variant?” Steve asked, bewildered.

“Yep. Basically what happens when Shifter parents aren’t of the same species and miraculously have a pup, or a mutation accidentally happens before birth, and sometimes even genetic experimentation and things like that. It’s an extremely rare thing, Steve, don’t feel too blue if you haven’t heard of them. JARVIS and I have been keeping tabs on things like that for some time now, but we can’t be sure as to what’s happening with those.”

Steve had definitely never heard of it before—although he’d been told scary stories as a child of werewolves and monsters that crept through the night, Steve had never believed that they were even remotely possible.

“Shifters are known to be mostly mammalian,” Tony explained. “Avians and Reptiles are rare, and Fish and even Bug Shifters are considered to be even rarer, but none are as rare as the Variants. Almost every Variant reported as possible has been thought to be unique.”

 _You seem to know a lot about Shifters for someone who doesn’t like them_ , Steve thought. He didn’t dare say it aloud for fear of upsetting his friend, but it was there, pressing on his mind.

“I’ve never been sure, but a guy has to know what to prepare for when he goes out into the world,” the genius rambled on, waving his hands. Steve remained quiet and attentive, but wasn’t particularly interested in the science and facts anymore—what had happened to Tony to make him dislike Shifters so much?

The question hung in the air, and Tony’s rambling drifted off, his eyes falling onto the Wolf’s azure ones as if trying to communicate something, but nothing Steve could really understand.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Tony finally suggested, breaking the silence. The Wolf nodded, giving an appreciative hum when the smaller man curled further into his side as and began flipping through the ridiculously long list of movies Tony owned.

 

* * *

 

 

Tony and Steve snuffled awake to the sound of JARVIS’ voice, the Wolf’s ears perking up and the man beside him straining to make sense of the sounds he was hearing.

“—Director Fury is on the line. He appears to have information for a new mission,” JARVIS was saying. The two blinked, and with a mournful groan, Tony told the AI to relay the message to all team members from under Steve’s arm, unwilling to move from his comfortable position tucked into Steve’s side.

“There’s been some activity in the north,” Fury began without preamble. “SHIELD has decided that there are no longer any reasons not to shut that base down, so we’re sending your team in to investigate and then destroy the factory. I want Barton and Romanov to do any and all scout work and investigations while Stark and the Captain handles operations and all other external activity. Once we figure out exactly what they’re doing there, I want your team to shut down that base. You have three days to prepare for travel to a secure location. If you have any questions, you know where to find me.”

The blip signaled the end of the message, and Steve held back a growl as Tony squirmed out of his grasp, off to his own room or lab to prepare for the day, and possibly the rest of the trip.

He liked Tony a lot, he really did—but his whole anti-Shifter thing didn’t give Steve much hope for anything more than friendship, let alone something more familiar or intimate, especially when he considered how big of an impact Tony was in the world and how much power he held in a single word.

Shaking it off, he stood to go get ready for the day himself, dismissing his usual morning run to go meet his new teammates and discuss their plans.

 

* * *

 

Their pack was small and mighty, in the end—perhaps that was why Tony had not immediately left them once he’d learned they could handle themselves efficiently without him.

Natasha and Clint had become extremely attached to Steve during the few days of preparation they had, as it turned out, neither any more dominant than the average Beta, and more than willing to forge a pack-like bond with someone so open to it, especially with their unlikely forms. Steve had a feeling that they’d been rejected often and too many times to want to pass up this kind of opportunity, and he’d been relieved that he wasn’t the only outsider in the group for once. They’d immediately elected Steve as their Alpha, and had compliantly discussed any and all knowledge they had pertaining to the mission with he and Tony without any more than the Wolf’s first questions.

The two had been amazingly compliant assets—Steve had discovered Natasha’s inclination for understanding technology and how to break through when she’d been working with JARVIS to recalibrate something in the gymnasium, and he’d found Clint’s ability to track and choose and identify targets, disadvantages, threats, allies and potentially dangerous or useful people, enemies, and supplies through the media room, once Tony had been gone long enough for the Hawk to use it. He’d been watching an old 90s movie—The Matrix, Clint had said, tsking at it and snarling critiques and techniques the main character could have or should have used in certain situations, swearing at Hollywood’s tenacity for drama rather than practicality.

Steve had wanted to laugh at his new packmates, but then he’d remembered Tony. The genius had left abruptly the day that Fury had relayed the mission to the group as a whole, absently mentioning something about needing to do something for the company before he left.

It’d been bothersome to Steve for sure, but he’d let it go. Tony didn’t really have any responsibilities or commitments to him, so it wasn’t his right to ask about it, as much as he’d wanted to. He avoided the Captain for the rest of the day and had quickly taken off without anymore than a goodbye wave and a sarcastic comment on whether he’d find the house burnt down when he returned.

Once Tony had left, the Shifters had taken over his home, although politely refraining from invading Tony’s—and Steve’s, by proximity—space. Natasha and Clint trained willingly enough with Steve in the gym and outdoors, practicing attack and defense formations and maneuvers meant to help them get out and stay out of trouble.

They were a great team—Natasha’s wolf was slender and strong, with a pointed snout and bushy tail, a touch too red to be completely wolf. The hourglass markings on her back further assured that Steve was right, especially considering her hilariously nimble capability of navigation and hunting, using traps, tricks and occasionally the wolf’s code of teamwork.

Their team practice bonded the pack more closely together, and Steve found himself wistful of having Tony there with him, as impossible as he knew it was. He wanted to have the man join this little rag-tag pack of his, wanted to share this familiarity with him. But he couldn’t.

Tony was human.

 

* * *

 

 

“Steve, where are y—oof!” Tony found himself floored and with a lap full of Wolf lying on top of him in the doorway, both stunned at what had just occurred.

“Are you fu—are you even joking?” Tony finally stuttered out a hysterical laugh, the blonde wincing. “You’re completely, one hundred and ten percent a dog,” he declared, ruffling the larger man’s hair playfully and giving him a heavy pat on the shoulder.

“I—um. We missed you,” the Captain spoke with a flinch, helping the inventor back onto his feet. He had wanted to argue, but couldn’t help but sheepishly agree that he was indeed behaving like a puppy.

“I can tell,” Tony chuckled, dusting himself off before giving the man a wide grin. Being tackled to the ground by a Wolf wasn’t a lot of fun, but if it was Steve tackling him, he wouldn’t mind so much.

“Fury’s going to have us leave tomorrow, right?” He asked absently, unbuttoning his jacket as he led the way towards the kitchen, his Wolf in tow.

“Yes, at about two in the afternoon. I think he’s trying to get us out there towards night time,” Steve replied, watching the man shuffle around in the refrigerator before pulling out an odd shake—something protein-y, his nose told him, followed by a large slab of meat he distantly remembered being stocked in the fridge a few days ago with Tony’s name on it in big letters.

“Well then,” Tony continued, uncomfortably undoing the top two buttons on his shirt and allowing his collarbones to show as he moved over to the stove. Steve swallowed, willing himself to concentrate on something else, anything else, besides that pale, milky smooth skin that smelled of—he paused.

The genius smelled strange—like something wild. His coffee and wood and machinery oil smell had been marred with something else, something wild and spicy and powerful, laced with a demanding and aggressive flair to it that had the Wolf’s hair standing on end. Tony smelled of an Alpha Shifter, something Steve wouldn’t even dare to try and identify.

Had he been spending time with another Shifter? Steve nearly growled at the thought, shocked at the sudden wave of passion that had overcome him. He tried shaking the thoughts from his mind as best as he could, reminding himself that Tony didn’t like Shifters, and wouldn’t be caught dead willingly spending time with one outside of work. Right?

Slightly deflated, Steve did his best not to pout, mouth watering at the sight of the massive steak now being piled onto Tony’s plate, following Tony to the table, and held back a little whimper when the man didn’t share the large portion of food with him—it was a Wolf thing. Packs shared their kill and ate together, and because Steve’s body believed Tony was in his pack, with Steve acting as Alpha, it felt that he was entitled to share, even if Steve knew that wasn’t the case.

He knew that Tony didn’t eat enough as it was, and that he should be happy that his friend was eating for once, and smiled at him instead, although it didn’t reach his eyes. The genius rolled his eyes as he chewed, having said nothing while downing the shake and practically inhaling the steak in one go, slicing a reasonable piece off and gesturing for the Wolf to sit closer to eat and share the plate.

Unsure, Steve scooted closer to Tony, eyes questioning.

The disgruntled man smirked at him, prodding the steak again, closer to Steve this time, and handing him the knife and fork, grinning widely when his eyes brightened and he dug into the piece.

 

* * *

 

By the time Fury’s pick-up jet had arrived at the mansion, the sun had gone down and the four teammates had gathered in the massive underground garage, located on the opposite side of the building from the Lab. Tony was busily tapping away at his phone, Steve overseeing them as he hefted his duffel bag over his shoulder, snagging Tony’s out of his hands when he wasn’t looking and leading the group out to where the one-eyed man waited for them. Natasha and Clint followed diligently enough, but Tony trailed behind slowly after them, still preoccupied with his phone.

“Stark,” Fury barked, and Steve was barely able to keep his warning growl in, protectively watching Tony, who continued to steadily ignore the bristling man.

“Tony,” Steve called firmly, but not unkindly. The genius looked up, smirked at him, and picked up his pace, sitting inside the quinjet near him. The wolf did his best not to grin and look at Fury, but he could feel the man’s irritation from where they were seated and settled in, pleased.

“We’re dropping you four off," he announced, returning the cockpit of the jet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!  
> College has been unkind lately, and writer's block has been even more so!  
> I'll be hopping onto the NaNoWriMo train this year, practicing my hand at story-writing. Expect more from me soon, not exclusively Avengers, though~! <3


	5. Silent Night, Moonless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is hope, and also the threatening of a golden retriever, hawk, genetic variant by a slightly-less threatening human with knowledge capable of turning the resident refrigerator into an ice shard-shooting murder machine.  
> The existence of a nearby Hydra base, also, does not help in any of these manners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 83 I am so sorry fffffff  
> This chapter was a pain for me to write, especially while juggling other ideas and school! Oh good lord, please forgive my absence and enjoy! I promise the other chapters will be coming soon! <3

Their arrival at their drop point had been, needless to say, quiet and precise, especially if one realized that usually chatty Tony Stark had fallen silent.

He remained quiet and still for the entirety of the flight, and had followed the others to a small hillside bunker under the cover of night, silent and without complaint. While worried, Steve did his best not to say anything, instead feeling the forest around him and remaining hyperaware of the fact that Tony, so human and breakable and fragile Tony, was there amongst his pack, more vulnerable to the elements and Hydra, by proxy. He twitched at each and every sound of twigs snapping, grass and leaves rustling, dirt shuffling, and found himself exhausted by the end of the twelve-mile-long trek.

Once they arrived, the four of them quickly broke down the bunker—it was cabin-like, fortified and well-camouflaged, even by Tony’s standards, splitting off into three hallways at the entrance. The center branch led to a kitchen-and-mess hall and equipment room, while the other two hallways led down to a larger living space for two teammates to be settled in each.

Tony had, without any hesitation, swept down the left wing of the bunker with his things, worrying his Wolf further while Natasha and Clint took over the right wing with a nod of agreement from Steve.

* * *

 Steve entered their shared room cautiously, unsure if Tony was going to snap or needed him there. He quietly hoped for the latter.

Instead, he found the genius flitting about the room, setting up various pieces of tech with a confident and precise hand, although his eyes still had that tense look about them. Rather than interrupt, Steve quietly placed his things under the other cot—it would probably go unused, knowing their usual sleeping arrangements anyways—and sat, watching Tony work.

It was a comforting sight, in an odd kind of way. Back at the mansion, Tony would sometimes let Steve come down into the workshop to keep him from becoming lonely. He’d let the Wolf take over his couch downstairs to nap or draw while he busied himself about the lab, usually during the times when he was creating schematic drawings or conceptualizing. Occasionally, he would even ask Steve for ideas or his opinions on things, and although they both knew that the Wolf didn’t understand much about Tony’s work, he would do his best to offer something of value. Tony would nod, rub his chin thoughtfully, and continue his work, taking Steve’s ideas into thought and pointedly reminding him of that fact whenever he least expected it.

Watching Tony do something so familiar was appeasing for Steve, and he reached into his backpack to retrieve his phone, making sure to run over the information supplied to him by SHIELD, carefully pocketing away the most relevant pieces of intelligence whenever he could.

Once the clicking, sparking and somewhat alarming clattering had stopped and devolved into rustling noises, Steve looked up again to find that Tony had finished installing all of his necessary equipment, pulling out blankets and a sleeping bag to lay over the cot. When Steve gave him a             questioning look, the billionaire shrugged.

“Just making sure we’ll be comfortable overnight,” he explained.

Steve tried not to let the feelings of warmth pooling in his chest and belly show on his face, suggesting dinner instead.

The response was a reasonably agreeable shrug, and the two left the room again, secretly pleased to note that Natasha and Clint had left them a scrap of paper mentioning that they’d go hunt for something outside instead and wouldn’t be back until later.

They’d obviously noticed their Alpha and Tony’s tension earlier, and this was their way of showing their concern without directly voicing it, and possibly scaring Tony off or making him shut them all out further.

Steve’s gratitude towards them grew, and reminded himself to thank them later in person.

Tony flopped down into a chair in the decently sized kitchen area, exhaling heavily and smiling at Steve in a way that made him proceed warily.

“What are you cooking for us today, then, O Capitan?” He grinned, unashamedly kicking up his feet onto another chair.

Steve grimaced a little, wrinkling his nose. Of course.

Rummaging around in the small pantry and refrigerator, he was pleased to find chicken and beef in the freezer among other vegetables, fruits, cheeses, and spices.

Satisfied, Steve got around to making a stir fry dish with the beef, expertly slicing onions and tomatoes and carrots to satisfaction, cooking the rice and even managing to make fries from scratch, throwing all of that and the beef into the pan and sautéing it to perfection.

It was definitely a longer process than he or Tony would have preferred, but he wanted to spoil the genius today, so he’d taken a great deal of time and care while preparing their meal. Steve felt guilty that he’d been treating Tony like a fragile thing, and even more so after everything with Fury and the other two Shifters had given him a near-literal run for his money.

He was rewarded when Tony’s eyes narrowed into the pleased little slits that appeared when he chewed slowly, savoring the taste in his mouth, a rare sight for many. As it turned out, while Steve didn’t cook often, Tony loved it nearly every time he did, saying something about ‘old-fashioned recipes’ and ‘knowing exactly what to do with the ingredients’ while eating.

Today was no exception, even going so far as to voice his appreciation for it multiple times over throughout the course of the meal. Steve had been forced to take Tony’s plate away from him when he realized, after the fourth serving of the meal, that he’d been eating it out of sheer love for the flavors rather than need for sustenance. It was certainly flattering, but he didn’t want to be responsible for Tony’s stomach bursting, and instead herded him back to their room, promising he’d join him in sleep as soon as he’d finished cleaning up after them.

Steve found, upon observation, that he had made enough to successfully feed two others rather decently after they’d finished eating, and left it for Natasha and Clint to hopefully find whenever they returned. He was pretty pleased with that, running secondary checks on the doors and making sure the two Shifters could get back inside when they got back, and heading back to finally join Tony in sleep, glad to have him back with him, even if it was in this hostile environment.

* * *

When they woke the next morning, Tony was, for once, still asleep, a rarity back at home—in fact, he hadn’t slept longer than Steve ever since the other two Shifters had arrived. He was tucked up against the Wolf’s chest, exhaling in quiet little puffs of breath. Steve debated getting up to meet with Natasha and Clint, but decided against it, knowing that they’d both carry out their morning training routines without him, and instead carefully avoided shifting Tony as he settled back in to rest just a little longer, just until he woke up again.

As it turned out, he didn’t really have to wait too long—the brunette began to stir a little over the course of the next half hour, snuffling and grunting before rolling away from Steve and onto his belly. He grumbled awake about ten minutes after, swatting at Steve grouchily when he’d been unable to hold in his laughter.

“Tony,” he hummed. “We need to get up now.”

The smaller man whined, before sitting up and giving Steve a dirty look that had no effect whatsoever due to the ruffled mess atop his head. He rolled off the bed quickly and hustled off to the small bathroom to clean himself up properly while Steve chuckled, smoothed his own hair out with one hand, and headed into the mess area to see if Clint and Natasha had returned yet.

He was relieved to find them there, exchanging words in multiple languages, making Steve’s head spin just a little, but still feel somewhat comforted. It was if they'd brought a little bit of home with them.

* * *

“Okay, so—Clint is going to be responsible for overhead surveillance, and I’m going to need Natasha to actually infiltrate the base, from this point, here,” Steve pointed at one of the vents that widened up a fraction in comparison to the others on the blueprints of the base laid out before them. There were a series of other maps sitting before him as well, with carefully marked locations of cameras, land mines, and other various traps and defense mechanisms the Hydra base had laid out. It was a seriously well-defended operation, and the organization was not fooling around.

“Rogers, there’s a massive set of rotors there,” Natasha griped at him.

“Not to mention the lazer screens,” Clint added unhelpfully, twirling an arrow between his thumb and forefinger.

Tony scoffed at them. “You seem to be forgetting the most important player in all of this—me.”

Steve barely managed not to roll his eyes at Tony, and both Clint and Natasha grumbled at him in complaint.

“Tony here is going to stay behind and break into the system instead,” Steve explained quickly, trying to keep the billionaire from further offending two of the most easily lethal shifters in the room at once. The other two nodded, and the unspoken relief hung in the air between the three of them.

The shapeshifters were quietly glad that a non-shifter wouldn’t be joining them out in the field, knowing that having to protect Tony would definitely hinder them some and that they would unconditionally want to protect him while out there.

Steve sighed and rolled the blueprint back up, pointing at another map that was unhelpfully blank.

“You’ll have to place the tracers within the building strategically. Once we’re done with that, you report back here to me. Then you’ll have to draw out the information, Tony. It’s the most important part of this whole mission,” Steve added quickly. "But until then, we need to prep and make sure we haven't missed anything on the outside."

Natasha hummed her agreement. “We should have our kits and trackers prepared tonight.”

“We’ll have to start scouting again today, then,” Clint muttered.

“I doubt he was looking at anything Shifter-specific,” Tony agreed. “You guys should take a look today while I work on checking on everything. I don’t trust SHIELD’s tech team to do anything without making an elementary mistake.”

“Okay, then—I’ll go ahead and start off with that while you and Natasha get ready.”

With that, the team shuffled off, Natasha heading to the back room to ensure their packs were each filled with their respective equipment, communication devices and tracers, Clint shedding his shirt as he prepared to take a flight around the camp and base.

“Steve, what are you going to be doing?”

He sighed. Steve had hoped Tony wouldn’t ask—his job was going to be the most risky, and he would be the last to return after everyone had finished their part of the mission, if he came back that day at all.

“I’m going to be triggering some of the traps and alarms around the base—drawing the guards out, you know. Trying to give Natasha and Clint more time to work, and fewer Hydra members to worry about, and causing the Hydra guards some trouble.”

“Triggering the alarms and traps? Steve,” Tony grumbled irritably, fixing Steve with a hard eye.

“Mainly the trips and cameras,” Steve argued defensively, raising his hands in surrender. “Nothing with darts or nets or cages, you know that!”

Tony growled. “You bet your furry golden retriever butt I’m going to be watching you three on the surveillance cameras, Rogers, and if I find that you get your ass into trouble and I have to get you out of it, it’s the doghouse for you!”

Steve looked taken aback, appalled at Tony’s terrible dog joke and small threats. He gave a whine of discontent, and decided not to argue the billionaire’s point of ‘dog house’ and 'golden retriever' to remind him, again, that he was a Wolf, knowing that the man was being perfectly serious.

“I won’t,” he sighed stubbornly. Tony snorted, rolling his eyes and patting Steve’s shoulder.

“You three get out there today, I’m going to start working,” he sighed, shuffling off to their shared room.

A little disgruntled, Steve sighed, shedding his shirt and leaving it folded over the back of the chair in the kitchen, heading out of the safehouse to join Clint. He’d return once he and Natasha finished their rounds, and would do his own setup then, he decided. He shook himself out into his proud golden wolf once outside, sniffing the air and listening to the woods around him closely.

Steve looked around cautiously before breaking out into a run.

* * *

When Clint returned, the sky had darkened, and the smell of well-cooked food was filtering from the kitchen, as well as the clinking sounds of metal from the back room. He was surprised to find, when he shuffled into the space, that it wasn’t Steve cooking, but Tony. Tony, who had his headphones in as he absently sautéed meat and mushrooms in a way that he was sure was the result of picky gourmet food-snobbery that came with a wealthy lifestyle.

He grinned a little at the idea of sneaking up behind him, and quietly stalked up to him. He may have been a hawk, but that definitely didn’t keep him from being a great spy.

Just as he had his hands raised to clamp down on Tony’s shoulders, the billionaire sighed, stretching his arms in a smooth jerking motion that ended up elbowing the raptor-shifter in the gut.

Clint gave a huffing “oof!” as he stumbled back a step, trying to laugh when Tony whirled around with a scandalized expression on his face, even though he’d had the wind knocked out him.

“Bird brain!” Tony hissed, glowering at him. “That’s what you get for trying to sneak up on a badass like me!”

Clint snorted, having recovered enough to speak. “If you hadn’t done that you would’ve been scared out of your skin!” He insisted, grinning as he carefully stepped up next to Tony to peer into the pan.

“Whatcha making?” He asked curiously, pranking aside for now. Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him but did nothing else.

“It’s supposed to be a spaghetti dish,” he admitted. Beside him was an array of onions, spices, tomatoes, sauces, and a rather large box of pasta noodles waiting to be boiled.

“Eh—that sounds good. Is Steve back yet?”

“Nope—Alpha boy is still running around out there. Natasha left just a little while ago, too, so they’ll be back soon. How was the weather up there?” Tony smirked a little.

Clint made a face, but answered. “It’s fine. Cold. Airy. Free. The usual. You need help?”

Tony seemed a little surprised by Clint’s offer, but shrugged.

“Eh, I don’t see why not. Go cut those vegetables, and I’ll throw ‘em in here once you’re done.”

“Sweet,” Clint hummed, snagging the vegetables Tony had motioned at. The silence was companionable for awhile as they worked, only the sounds of food frying and the smell of a good meal filtering throughout the space.

Clint had thought Tony would be a little more closed-minded about him being around without Steve, especially considering Tony’s dislike of Shifters in general, and his distaste in having he and Natasha living with them.

But the billionaire, while begrudging, had been good-natured, even when Steve wasn’t around, even leaving little peace offerings around for the hawk and she-wolf to find—fruit baskets that had remained untouched in Tony and Steve’s presence, extra cuts of the meals Tony made, even extra meat and food in the fridge with their names written on the wrappings in Sharpie.

Despite what he said and how he tried to play it off, Tony didn’t hate him, and he didn’t hate Natasha—which was why he stayed out of the vents when Tony was home, why he changed the channels to something they would both enjoy watching in the media room when he joined him, and why he wouldn’t pester him in his lab.

The fact that they remained living together symbiotically without having killed each other was a surprisingly encouraging thought. He knew that their Alpha was absolutely entranced with Tony—maybe he had a chance after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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